Corporate M&A

Ok so it's not IB. If I were to get into a position like this for a respectable firm that is publicly traded in my field of interest, what options would I have a few years down the road? I want to get my MBA or MSF. I imagine I would be interested in moving to private equity (MM, even lower MM I would enjoy - don't give a damn about prestige). But am I limiting myself? Do I need to go to IB full-time for a few years?
Also what about real estate P/E. Are you pigeonholed if you start there?
Quick background: parent, older student, broke in by some serious hustling and networking last year. Originally did finance to teach myself more about business to start a new venture one day. Never thought I would be interested in IB but here I am.

My main concern is setting myself up for a dead-end, any thoughts from peeps out there working or are familiar would be greatly appreciated. Thank You.

 

Yes--that is what I mean. Basically I would like to work in the Corporate Development group for a Tech Giant such as Oracle/Cisco etc who have their own groups to deal with their M&A. The group will be responsible for the due-diligence and also perform the financial analysis for any potential acquisitions. Ofcourse, there will be IBankers involved as underwriters. Pl let me know if that does not clarify your original question. thanks --Deepa

 

While the pay and prestige don't compare to IB M&A, you will benefit from better hours. Also don't have to deal with being a salesman.

An IB internship would be extremely useful, also anything with project management experience (you will need to manage the DD process)

 

BBs have extremely structured hiring practices and it would be difficult for someone with a corp dev background to break in unless they knew someone on the inside. The only other way I can see this happening is if someone left the firm mid-cycle and the team is seriously understaffed and looking to hire anyone they can find.

 

Interesting, well I just met someone who worked for years at CGI, large IT/Consulting cie, did his CFA while there... and now just switched to IB, he probably had great stats, any other options?

 
Tragelaphus:
Interesting, well I just met someone who worked for years at CGI, large IT/Consulting cie, did his CFA while there... and now just switched to IB, he probably had great stats, any other opions?

It probably also helped that CGI has been a very acquisitive company, so his deal experience is probably very solid. If you're a corp dev guy who's closed a few transactions, obviously this makes the jump to IB a lot easier.

 

What you're stating isn't the norm but an exception - sure it's possible but it'll be difficult. CFA-wise, I think the general consensus is that it doesn't help too much w/ banking, but you'll definitely be much better off networking and being proactive rather than pinning all your hopes and dreams on a designation.

That having been said, having CFA at the end of your name is pretty awesome :)

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